Delta re-arranged our prepaid Priceline tickets so that we flew out of Cleveland (instead of Akron-Canton) and arrived in Phoenix at 6 PM!\u00a0 A little nerve-wracking, but thank-you Delta!<\/p>\n
It was 94 degrees in Phoenix when we landed; but was a pleasant 65 when we got to Sedona.<\/p>\n
Sunday<\/strong>\u00a0was somewhat overcast and hazy \u2013 not the Sedona Blue skys we normally experience.\u00a0 We decided to take a modest hike, but a new one for us.\u00a0 After we finally found the trail-head, it was a lovely hike \u2013 just right to get back into the groove.\u00a0 Also, this is the time of year that many of the desert plants are blooming (just like at home) and we saw some lovely little blooms.<\/p>\n Monday \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>A little sight-seeing is in order.\u00a0 We drove up the lovely, winding highway through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff (elevation 7,000 ft).\u00a0 Approaching town we noticed that some of the people along the street had on heavy jackets, and the car\u2019s outdoor thermometer was reading 47 degrees.\u00a0 While this would not normally be a huge problem, Judith had managed to lose her rain jacket in the Atlanta airport, and had not brought her heavy sweater either.\u00a0 Fortunately, Flagstaff is a college town.\u00a0 We parked just off of historic San Francisco street and found 5 outdoor outfitters within just a few blocks!\u00a0 New jacket in hand, we were on our way!<\/p>\n First stop, Sunset Crater Volcano.\u00a0 The eruption of this volcano occurred about 1,000 years ago, and the surrounding area is still largely barren, with mounds of lava and cinders.\u00a0 In fact, after we left the Crater, the ground was mostly covered with cinders 20 miles away even yet!\u00a0 The lack of moisture in Arizona\u2019s high desert has resulted in the extremely slow erosion of the lava.\u00a0 It was awe inspiring and mind boggling to contemplate.\u00a0 Oh, and yes, that is snow on the top of Mt. San Francisco the first week of May.<\/p>\n Then on to the Indian ruins\u2026\u00a0 What does one say about the ruins of a 100 room pueblo, built 800 \u2013 900 years ago in the high desert where water was always at a premium and life could not possibly have been easy?\u00a0 It is wonder-ful.<\/p>\n Hope you enjoyed this part of our trip (and Judith\u2019s finger).<\/p>\n Tuesday<\/strong>, we took our favorite Sedona hike \u2013 Mitten Ridge.\u00a0 This area is considered by many to be a Vortex Site; but is not on most of the lists of Vortex sites in the area.\u00a0 For me, for us, this is the most spectacular, mountain top experience ever.\u00a0 The peace and serenity, the grandeur, the immensity of the world and our place in it, combine to nearly overwhelm us.<\/p>\n Access to this trail is a little \u201cinteresting\u201d.\u00a0 One takes Schnebly Hill Road about 6 miles up the side of the canyon wall to reach the Trail Head.\u00a0 One can actually take this road all the way up to the top of the rim and access I-17 \u2013 if you have the fortitude to do so.\u00a0 After the first half-mile of the road, the pavement ENDS.\u00a0 From there on it is dirt and rocks!\u00a0 We met two local men who had just completed the Mitten Ridge hike as we reached the Trail Head parking and were discussing this.\u00a0 One commented that the 11 mile drive from I-17 to Sedona via Schnebly Hill Road would be the longest 11 miles one would ever drive!\u00a0 We averaged less than 10 m.p.h. up this road.\u00a0 But the hike is worth every body shaking bump in getting there!<\/p>\n After our hike and lunch, we visited another of our favorite sites: Woo Ranch, home to some amazing Sinaugua rock art. And this is a site that even most well informed locals do not know about. This property is now part of the Forest Service lands and as such is \u201caccessible\u201d to the public for hiking, etc.\u00a0 Accessible is a relative term since you must shimmy under a locked gate or crawl through a barbed-wire fence to enter.\u00a0 However, we discovered that it was guarded by even more threatening defenses \u2013 the \u201cAttack of the Prickley Pear\u201d!<\/p>\n As we were climbing the hill to reach the rock art (protected by a sign saying \u201cDon\u2019t deface Cultural Heritage sites\u201d), Judith lost her balance and accidentally sat down onto a Prickly Pear Cactus! She had (and in some cases, still has) cactus spines just about \u201ceverywhere\u201d<\/em>!<\/p>\n Wednesday<\/strong>\u00a0we visited Enchantment Resort.\u00a0 This is a very high-end resort in the basin of Boynton Canyon.\u00a0 We ate on the patio with the red-rock of the canyon walls as our entertainment.\u00a0 The food was good, the surroundings were spectacular.<\/p>\n \u00a0Thursday<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 After our (mis-?)adventures on Wednesday, we decided a \u201cnew\u2019 hike was in order, and it was my turn to choose.\u00a0 I selected a hike that the books listed as a \u201cPersonal Favorite\u201d and that was a little off the beaten path so we could enjoy the peace of nature. By a little off the beaten path, I\u2019m saying 3 miles down FR 152-C (FR = Fire Road). In the past this has been a minimally maintained road (also known as Vultee Arch Road) that provided access to several well liked hikes.\u00a0 However, it has been \u201cdowngraded\u201d to a \u201chigh clearance vehicle\u201d road only.\u00a0 We had rented a Kia Soul that had 6 \u00bd\u201d ground clearance (rather than the 5\u201d of most passenger cars) and hoped that we qualified, since we only scraped \u201ca little<\/em>\u201d going over the rocks marking the beginning of the unmaintained section.<\/p>\n The first 2+ miles were bumpy (Judith questioned whether her innards would ever return to their normal locations!) Then came \u201cthe chasm\u201d; a combination of rocks sticking 8 \u2013 12 inches above the roadbed, combined with gullys 18\u201d deep.\u00a0\u00a0 We decided that discretion was the better part of valor, backed up to a turn out and parked there.<\/p>\n From there we walked the remaining \u00be mile to the Trail Head and started the trail. While it was a pleasant hike, it was not spectacular, and by the time we had walked another \u00be mile we decided to return to the car.\u00a0 It was a nice hike, but the views were mostly better from the road than from the trail, although we did see some manzinita in bloom, which was lovely.<\/p>\n After our morning hike we bought a picnic lunch and headed to Crescent Moon Park, the site of the classic pictures of Cathedral Rock.\u00a0 It is a lovely park, it does have great views of Cathedral Rock, and we enjoyed just dawdling around the pleasant trails & stream and looking at this classic Sedona site.<\/p>\n Friday<\/strong>\u00a0was going to be our last day in Sedona, and Judith let me pick the hike again (as long as we stayed on \u201creal\u201d roads).\u00a0 We had seen a trail marker from the road that was fairly near our lodging and decided that would be a good choice.\u00a0 Boy, were we RIGHT! It is now among our favorite Sedona hikes! Little Horse Trail is near the highway and very close to Bell Rock, another of the Sedona icons.\u00a0 Along the way, we had good views of Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, and Cathedral Rock, as well as many less well known formations (one I called \u201cShark\u2019s Teeth\u201d, but that\u2019s not on the maps either.)<\/p>\n While this trail was not extremely strenuous, we did need to stop to catch our breath a few times.\u00a0 This trail is also a mountain-biking trail \u2013 although I really don\u2019t see how \u201cI\u201d could possibly manage the steep inclines, boulders, etc. that are a part of this trail on a bicycle\u2026 but there were those who did.<\/p>\n The trail ends at \u201cChicken Point\u201d.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know where the name comes from, but the views were spectacular.\u00a0 When we arrived at this huge, slick rock outcropping, there was about a dozen hikers gathered around, hugging one another, etc.\u00a0 When we approached, they advised us that a couple from their hiking group had just become engaged right there.\u00a0 We often meet the most pleasant people hiking, and here it was again!<\/p>\n We were again struck by the beauty of the red rock area, and the grandeur of the sites.\u00a0 To give a sense of perspective, can you find Judith in the third picture below? She\u2019s wearing red, so she should stand out easily, right?<\/p>\n Following the hike we stopped at the Hillside Shops to look at some of the interesting sculptures on display in their parking lot.<\/p>\n Then we went into Sedona for lunch\/dinner at The Cowboy Club.\u00a0 We were once again struck by the beauty of Red Rock country, but also by the accessibility of the views.\u00a0 While we enjoy hiking and getting into the back country, one can also see spectacular views \u2013 even from a downtown parking lot.<\/p>\n We took a little nap before starting our trek home.\u00a0 We left Sedona about 7:30 in the evening, drove to Phoenix to return the (unbroken) car, and catch our 11:25 PM flight to Detroit, with a 6 hour layover and plane and terminal change before hopping on to Cleveland.\u00a0 It was a great trip, but we were tired by the time we got home around 2:30 Saturday afternoon!<\/p>\n But we can\u2019t wait to do it all again! This place is magical for us; we never get tired of it and we ooh and aah over the same vistas every day!\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks for joining us on our trip!<\/p>\n Judith and Mark<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to Sedona part #4 (or for Judith, Sedona part 8)! This trip got off to an \u201cinteresting\u201d start.\u00a0\u00a0Saturday\u00a0morning as I was getting ready to print\u00a0 our boarding passes I noticed there had been a \u201cschedule change\u201d on our flights\u2026 Instead of leaving at 1 PM and arriving in Phoenix at 5 PM (MST), we … Continue reading Sedona Vacation 2013<\/span> ![\"DSC_2061\"](\"http:\/\/yourpcgeek.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSC_2061.jpg\")
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